1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a suspension for an automotive vehicle or the like and more specifically to a suspension which includes an arrangement for modifying the effects of compliance steer on the operational characteristics of the suspension.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows an arrangement disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application First Provisional Publication No. 55-1556 (publication date Jan. 8, 1980) which is directed to compensating for the effects of the so called "compliance steer" phenomenon by varying the angle of the road wheel with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle chassis. Viz., with the provision of a lateral rod and a knuckle arm, the road wheel which is pivotally mounted on pivot is "steered" from the orientation shown in solid line to that shown in chain line to convert compliance steering into "toe in". This feature induces understeer which produces a stabilizing effect under high speed cornering.
However, the amount of understeer which is derived from converting the complicance steer in a manner as set forth above is determined largely by the nature of the elastomer used in the bushes through which the suspension arm is connected to the vehicle chassis (viz., the bushes of the hinge units). Hence, the amount of understeer which is produced tends to remain essentially constant over the whole range of vehicle speed.
Thus, if the elastomer is selected in a manner to produce the appropriate amount of understeer at high vehicle speeds, the bushes tend to be overly soft and permit an excessive amount of understeer at lower speeds and vice versa. Hence, with the above described suspension it has not been possible to achieve ideal operational characteristics over the full range of vehicle speeds.